Seal.



J. W. AYLSWORTH.

SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1909.

PatentedJune 14, 1910.

ANDREW a GNAMKM (30.. PNDYOMYNOGRAPHERS. WASHINGTON. D. c

UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

JONAS WALTER AYLSWORTI-I, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO E. J'. BROOKS 85 (30., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 27, 1909.

Patented June 14, 1910.

Serial No. 486,193.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ONAS WALTER AYLswoRrH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of East Orange, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to seals for securing the doors and windows of railway freight cars and for other like purposes, and especially to all such seals that have or may have a flexible metallic shackle the ends of which are united or inseparably connected at the seal fastening or sealing operation.

The present invention consists in a certain improvement in such seals hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

The leading object of this invention is to permanently and inseparably unite or connect the ends of a loop-forming shackle by the aid of thermo-metallurgy so as to render the loop formed by the shackle actually or practically continuous, and incapable of being restored, in case the seal should be violated, by any means that a thief could readily avail himself of.

A sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a seal illustrating the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a section through thethermic attachment of the same on a larger scale; Fig. 3 is an elevation of a press-fastened seal constructed on the same principle; Fig. a represents a section through the thermic attachment shown in Fig. 3 on a larger scale; Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of sheet-metal shackles provided with the improved fas tening means in another form; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a seal made from the shackle represented by Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is an edge view of the shackle represented by Fig. 6, ready to be fastened; Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation illustrating means for fastening the seal represented by Figs. 6 and 8; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of this seal, fastened; and Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the thermic sealing or fastening tool represented in Fig. 9.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in all the figures.

In carrying this invention into efiect a flexible metallic shackle or like loop forming seal member, a or 0? or a or a, is thermometallurgically fastened by bringing its ends into suitable juxtaposition, and associating therewith an attachment, 6 or b or b or 6*, containing or composed of a thermic or thermo -metallic 'mixture by which the shackle ends, 1 and 2, or equivalent parts of the seal member are permanently and inseparably connected with each other, so as to render the loop formed by such member practically continuous, and incapable of being reopened without destroying the seal.

The metallic loop-forming shackle or equivalent seal member, a or a or a or a, is intended to be made of the usual metal or metals, and for the purposes of the present invention may be of any known or improved make, and either of round wire or the like (such as narrow fiat wire or square wire), as represented in Figs. 1 to 4. inclusive, or of sheet metal such as tin plate in the form of narrow strips, as represented in Figs. 5 to 10 inclusive.

In all the species the seal is or may be applied in customary manner as, for example, by passing the shackle a or a or a or a through a pair of staples, 0 cl, Figs. 1 and 3, attached respectively to a car door or car window, and its frame, or like relatively movable parts, so as to prevent their separation without breaking the seal, and such staples 0 cl or their equivalent are in all cases so sealed by a loop-forming shackle or its equivalent.

The thermic mixture characterizing the thermic attachment 1) or b or b or b is intended in all cases to contain an oxidizable or combustible element which when ignited will furnish suflicient heat, and an oxidizing metallic powder mixed therewith which will be fused by such heat, and, usually, a suitable fluxing powder incorporated with the combustible element and metal. An example of an effective thermic mixture would be: powdered metallic aluminum or an equivalent readily oxidizable metal; copper oxid or an equivalent oxid capable of being reduced by the oxidizable metal when ignited, and furnishing the oxygen necessary to oxidize part or all of the aluminum or equivalent oxidizable metal; the reaction furnishing suflicient heat to melt the reduced metal or metals, and thereby to permanently fasten or seal the shackle, at the sealing operation, by an easily worked thermo-metalis the thermic sealing agent.

lurgica-l process. Suitable proportions are: powdered aluminum four parts by weight; copper oxid seven parts by weight. Fluor spar or other fluxing powder may be added in such proportions as may be required to regulate the violence of the reaction to any desired extent; and all the ingredients will be thoroughly mixed together. Such mixture will yield on ignition an alloy of aluminum and copper, which in its molten state The product of the oxidation of the aluminum uniting with the flux forms a slag which may remain as part of the seal. In all cases the thermic mixture will be ignited by suitable means; its combustible ingredient adapting it to be easily ignited, and itself furnishing, in reaction with the other ingredients of the mixture, the heat required to complete the reaction as above described, and thus to permanently and securely fasten or seal the shackle or its equivalent by a fused metal bond, which renders a looped shackle for example practically continuous or endless, and permanently closes the loop formed thereby as hereinbefore described.

In the species represented by Figs. 1 and 2, the thermic attachment Z) consists of a metallic cup attached to one rebent shackle end, 1, and provided with a hole, 2, Fig. 2, through which the other shackle end, 2, is threaded or inserted into the cup, which, before or after so assembling the parts, is supplied with the thermic mixture repre sented at b. In this species a label, 6, which may be of enameled sheet metal, cardboard or other suitable material, is attached to the shackle a as convenient means for carrying the distinguishing marks of the seal, represented by ERR-7 97 in Fig. 1.

In the species represented by Figs. 3 and 4, a press fastened seal part, f, is applied to the shackle a? to illustrate so meeting the requirement of such seal parts by any railroad company or other users; and the thermic attachment 6 is in the form of a cup applied to the depending shackle ends, '1 and 2, as best shown in Fig. 4, having an inlet hole 2 tightly fitted to the two shackle ends, and supplied with the thermic mixture, represented at Z), Fig. 4, as in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 5 to 10 inclusive illustrate the ap plication of the invention to sheet-metal shackles a a with or without additional seal parts represented by an eyelet f in Fig. 7, and by holes, 3 and 4, Fig. 5, in the respective ends of the shackle a as means for adapting the improved seal to be thus fastened. In both of the two constructions represented, the body of the sheet-metal shackle is provided with the customary permanent distinguishing marks, represented by ERR 28 in Figs. 5 and 7 and BRR 500 in Figs. 6 and 10, and the thermic-at tachment, b or 6 is in the form of a self-attached coating of the shackle ends. To adapt the thermic mixture to be so applied a suitable binding ingredient, such as a soluble gum or its equivalent, is included in the mixture, and the mixture may preferably be so solidified in all cases. Compare Figs. 2 and 4 with Figs. 5 and 6.

In the species represented by Figs. 5 and 7, after passing the shackle through a pair of staples (0 (Z) or the like its ends are brought together, and said supplemental fastening or seal part f is applied so as to serve for holding the shackle ends 1 and 2 in juxtaposition as in Fig. 7 preliminary to the thermic sealing operation.

In the species represented by Figs. 6, 8, 9 and 10, the shackle ends must be brought into juxtaposition for the sealing operation, as in Fig. 9, by other means. For this purpose a sealing tool, 9, Figs. 9 and 11, may be constructed with a portion, 5, of its interior suitably contracted to hold the shackle ends tightly together during the sealing operation, and with a tapered mouth, 6, leading thereto, so that the shackle ends 1 and 2 are brought together flat-wise in the act of thrusting them endwise into the sealing tool. A subjacent hole, 7 at right angles to said contracted portion of the interior of the tool and in communication therewith as in Fig. 9 may provide for admitting the igniting means to ignite the thermic mixture. The tool 9 may be of the shape represented by Fig. 11, or of any convenient form, prefer ably including in all cases a cold handle, 8, Fig. 11, by which to manipulate it.

It will be understood that the seal label 6 represented in Fig. 1, and the press-fastenable seal parts represented at f and f in Figs. 3 and 7, may be of any known or improved form, and that the invention may be applied (substantially as at 5 Figs. 3 and 4, for example) to snap seals having selffastening seal parts of any material, also to a metallic shackle wire, band or chain or like loop forming seal member in seals of any form for packages, bags, etc., and the improved seal may if desired be made sufficiently heavy and strong to itself constitute the fastening or look of a car door or the like.

The fastened shackle ends may if desired be impressed while still hot with distinguishing marks; and, with shackles of weldable metal, the thermic fastening may be an actual weld. The present invention is in tended to include any such union or joint formed by heat with or without the aid of another suitable metal or alloy.

The thermic mixture may be adapted in known or improved ways to be ignited by means of a percussion cap or the like; or the shackle ends may be welded by external applications of heat as by a blast flame or by an electric welding tool.

The shackle ends may be given any approved shape to facilitate the thermic sealing operation.

Other modes of applying the above described thermic mixture will also be apparent; and other like modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention, and desire to patent under this specification:

1. The combination with a metallic seal member of a thermo-metallic sealing attachment, the latter arranged to interact with said member and adapted to inseparably unite the parts of the seal by a thermo-metallic fastening at the sealing operation.

2. A seal having adjoining metallic shackle ends or like parts and a thermo-metallic sealing attachment, the latter being characterized by an ignitible thermo-metallic mixture in contact with said adjoining metallic parts, and includin a suitable combustible element and a rea ily oxidizable metal which is fused when the mixture is ignited.

3. A seal having a loop-forming metallic shackle the ends of which are adapted to be united, and a thermo-metallic sealing attachment arranged to interact with said shackle ends and adapted to inseparably unite them by a thermo-metallic fastening at the sealing operation.

4. A seal having a loop-forming metallic shackle, a seal part by which the shackle ends are mechanically connected with each other, and thermo-metallic means for inseparably uniting the shackle ends.

5. A seal having a flexible loop-forming shackle of sheet metal provided with a thermo-metallic coating as means for inseparably uniting the shackle ends.

6. A seal having a flexible loop-forming shackle of sheet metal provided with a thermo-metallic coating as means for inseparably unitin the shackle ends, and a seal part arrange to preliminarily fasten the shackle ends together flatwise.

JONAS WALTER AYLSWORTH.

Witnesses:

J. T. MCALLESTER, E. J. SMITH. 

